Lovely Weather for Bats
by TheCurlymop
Summary: Tom receives a tip for somewhere romantic he can take Kitty Set in my 'letters to sylvie' verse but you really don't need to read that unless you want to :)
1. Chapter 1

**Lovely Weather for Bats**

Tom's been working on Captain Jones since he first came in and now there's nothing more he can do. The man is a patchwork of stitching and splints but he's still got all his limbs and considering the state he was in when he arrived, Tom counts that as a real success. Now the best thing for him to do is sleep.

Tom supervises the orderlies moving the captain from his operating table to the officer's ward and then tells the nurse on duty to let him know when his patient wakes. Having worked for several hours, he can hopefully go and get some rest. Perhaps he can even see Kitty, they had exchanged glances earlier as she had delivered more bandages to the theatre but he hadn't allowed himself to get distracted.

Once Captain Jones has woken, he establishes himself as quite a character, he nearly always delays the nurses with his flirtatious chatter but he is equally happy to talk to the orderlies and doctors and Tom finds himself becoming quite fond of the young captain. Just like Miles, he seems to understand that beneath Tom's harsh exterior he's only human after all.

A few days after the operation when Tom is checking on the state of all his wounds, Jones begins to talk of his girl. Most of the men have someone back in blighty that they talk of nostalgically. Tom is inclined to take such stories with a pinch of salt but there is something in Jones' tone that tells him this is a real and very beloved sweetheart so he listens and smiles as he re-wraps the man's right leg and moves on to his left with the help of the duty nurse. When she leaves to check on another patient Jones turns to him with a conspiratorial smile.

'So Doctor, have you got a girl?'

Tom immediately tries not to think back to a few nights ago when he and Kitty had taken a walk under the stars after supper.

'I can see by the look in your eye that you do.' Jones winks but the cheeky look on his face is tempered by a soft smile. 'Don't worry, your secret's safe with me.'

Tom smiles uneasily and re-bandages the other leg. He's not really comfortable talking about Kitty with anyone, even Miles. It's so foreign to him to talk about feelings, even in a veiled way.

'That's healing nicely Captain,' he says, hoping to change the subject. 'In about a week we should have you healed enough to be transported back to blighty for your convalescence. You've been damn lucky really.'

Jones smiles. 'That's me, always the lucky one, sounds like I was lucky to get you as my surgeon. I heard one of the others mentioning he'd have amputated.'

'Yes well, Major Yelland and I have some differences of opinion. I happen to think that it's better for men to leave here with two working legs.' Tom doesn't mean to sound so grumpy but Yelland, in spite of the Colonel's warnings, is still doing his best to aggravate Tom.

'Well thank you Doctor. I assume I'll be seeing you tomorrow?'

'Either me or my colleague Captain Hesketh-Thorne,' Tom assures him as he leaves. He feels safe leaving his patient in Miles' hands at least and he really doesn't always have time to stop by all his patients every day even when they are as charming as Captain Jones.

* * *

'So Doctor, are you going to tell me more about your sweetheart?' Jones asks with a curious glint in his eye.

Tom sighs. At least Jones had waited until the nurse left to start asking questions. He doesn't want to become hospital gossip and he knows that Kitty doesn't want that either.

'Is she pretty? Tall? Charming? Tell me something at least, I'm bored.' Jones does look bored it's true. Such a chatty man would be so much happier in a men's ward or outside socialising but due to his wounds, he is still fairly immobile and has to rely on his visitors to provide entertainment. Sadly the officer's ward doesn't exactly encourage visitors and most of the other men there occupy themselves with books and quiet conversation. It must be a strain for the obviously gregarious man. Tom supposes he can spare a few minutes of conversation, Kitty has been trying to tell him that often the best thing she can do for a patient is talk to him and how much that can improve the rate of healing in someone. Maybe it's time for him to try that theory out.

He sits on the chair by the bed and smiles at Jones' look of surprise. 'I am allowed to take breaks sometimes you know,' he jokes.

'So does this mean you're going to tell me about her? I'm guessing that she's quite a secret.'

'Not a secret exactly, I'm just not keen on sharing all of my life with everybody in the hospital. This place is a gossip mill unlike any other. It's worse than the street where I grew up even!'

'So what's she like?' he looks honestly curious.

'She's very beautiful and very proud and I'm constantly surprised that she'll even look at me…' now he's got over the initial barrier, his feelings about Kitty are threatening to spill out uncontrollably.

'She doesn't let me be grumpy and she always tells me off if I say something rude unintentionally. She makes me feel better after doing this all day and I think I make her happier too.'

In those few sentences he has shared more about himself with Jones than he has with anyone, except perhaps Miles, but it feels natural. The Captain has an aura that invites you to share anything with him. That kind of charm could be dangerous but he doesn't think the captain uses it like that.

'She sounds lovely, perfect for you in fact… I suppose you've left her back in blighty?'

Tom means to say yes but he hesitates for just a little too long and Jones notices of course.

'Ahh… she's here isn't she… don't worry I won't say anything. Now I see why you were so cagey.'

Tom nods shortly. The danger of his romance being discovered has stopped his desire to tell Jones everything and he is pushed back into the world of the hospital abruptly.

'I must be getting on.'

'Of course Doctor. I hope you don't think I was being nosy, I won't say anything, I promise.'

Jones looks sincere and Tom just hopes he is telling the truth. He might warn Kitty just in case.

* * *

**So this is part one of two. I hope you like Captain Jones, I'm rather fond of him myself and I think anyone who encourages Tom to talk is a good thing. Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter, the second part will be up tomorrow (I promise because I have actually already written it)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lovely Weather for Bats part 2**

It's a week later and Tom is just checking over Jones for the last time before sending the request through for a blighty ticket. The man hasn't said anything and although Kitty was angry with him for putting her job in danger, she has relaxed with every day that their secret hasn't been released and now she is almost back to her normal self.

As Tom is initialling the last form, Jones says something completely unexpected.

'Lovely weather for bats isn't it?'

He seems to be expecting a reply but Tom is nonplussed. The weather has been lovely, warm and quite clear but he isn't sure why that's specifically bat weather.

Jones quickly explains. 'I used to go out as a boy to watch the bats late at night. There was a lake near my house and just as the sun set they would come out and you could watch them coming down to feed on the insects. It's magical, silent and quite spooky on your own. Later, it's where I used to take my girl when we wanted to be alone.'

He gives Tom a significant look and he wonders why the man is talking about bats.

Jones sighs and with the air of explaining things to an idiot he goes on. 'I'll be there are bats around here. My girl used to go on about how _romantic_ it was.'

The emphasis on romantic finally gets through to Tom who is still caught up in bats. He hadn't realised that bats were something one went out and watched but evidently he was a bit behind the times.

'Are you suggesting…' he leaves off the end of his sentence. There are other people around after all.

'Exactly. Don't tell her where you're going. I know there's quite a big pond in the wood, some of the other lads were telling me about it. Even if you don't see the bats, it would probably still be nice at that time of evening, just so long as you don't mind being bitten!'

'Thanks,' murmurs Tom, just as the nurse comes to check on them.

He raises his voice. 'Well as soon as the Colonel gets this paperwork, it's back to blighty for you Captain Jones, I think you're fit to travel.'

As he walks out of the hut he wonders about bats.

* * *

Tom spends the rest of the day wondering if it's going to rain or not. He and Kitty have a routine where they go on walks in the woods when it's dry and stay in his tent when it's raining – with the flaps open of course. Now he really wants it to remain dry so that he can perhaps use Jones' suggestion.

To his relief it doesn't rain and at about half past nine, he and Kitty wander towards the gap in the fence and into the woods. They normally follow the same route but this time he leads them in the opposite direction, towards where he knows the pond is, ignore Kitty's questions about why they are going this way. They reach the pond after about ten minutes of slow walking, it's so nice being out of the hospital and together that they never move very fast, concentrating more on talking to each other than going anywhere in particular. They sit on a fallen tree trunk after checking that it's relatively dry and continue to chat a little as Tom scans the sky. He still hasn't told Kitty what the are there for but in the end it is she who sees them first.

'Tom, was that a bat?' she asks.

'Well that's what we're here for. Someone suggested that there might be bats out here and that it could be pretty romantic so here we are.' He turns to Kitty and catches a smile, probably from his use of the word romantic.

'Oh look! There are more!'

She is gazing up at the bats whirling across the sky, some quite low down and Tom has to tear his eyes away from her look of awe to look up himself. They watch the bats swoop across in the twilight, catching insects and occasionally touching the water with a muted splash and a slight ripple. It is silent apart from these sounds and the woods are magical in the stillness of the evening.

'Do you ever think about what might happen when the war is over?'

Kitty breaks the silence and suddenly time moves again, though it is still slower than normal and Tom wonders if watching small creatures fly overhead is as hypnotic for her as it is for him. He keeps staring up as he answers.

'Sometimes I think about it but really I don't want to. Apart from the obvious problem of the war, I'm happy here, I love my work and I've got you and Miles, if the wars ends I don't know what will happen to me.'

'I know,' she sighs, 'I mean, you know how much this has liberated me, being able to come out to France, run away if you like, but what happens when the war ends? Does everything go back to like it was before? Because I don't think I can do that Tom.'

They are still looking up at the bats, somehow not looking at each other makes it easier he thinks, easier to say exactly what they are feeling, not being influenced by the other person's reactions.

'I don't want things to go back to how they were. I mean, before the war I was so inexperienced, now I'm one of the more senior surgeons in the RAMC who actually performs operations on a day-to-day basis and I love doing the work. I always assumed that I'd stay with the army after the war but…'

'But what?' she asks, 'what's changed?'

She asks so innocently but he thinks that she can't be that unaware of how he feels about her. He thinks of the ring he saw the last time he had leave. Only a tiny sapphire but he could afford it and he was so tempted. He didn't of course but the thought is still there.

'You,' he says simply, 'you changed everything and now I don't know what I'm doing. I didn't think I'd ever meet you, let's be honest, the RAMC isn't a normal place to meet women and I just assumed that once I'd joined up, I wouldn't meet anyone and then there was you.'

'Tom, are you saying what I think you're saying?'

He turns, for this, he needs to see her face.

'Kitty, I'm not asking yet, I'm just saying that if I were to ask… would you, well, would you perhaps not say no?'

He flushes and she thinks he's never looks more unsure of himself.

'If you're _not asking_ what I think you're not asking then I think I might like to be asked,' she says, emphatically, 'do you know, Elliot never asked me. It was all hatched up between him and my parents and he was presented to me as my fiancé without me ever saying anything. I wasn't brave enough to make a fuss but I always resented the fact that I wasn't given the opportunity.'

She smiles and he wonders at how easily she tells him these things now. Once she'd got past the first hurdle, she became so much happier to tell him things and in return, he told her things too, he liked the fact that she probably knew more about him than any other person. Inside, his heart is soaring because he thinks she just agreed to marry him or at least she might accept his proposal when he does propose. His thoughts return to that sapphire ring as they lapse into silence again and watch the last of the bats whirling overhead.

* * *

**I love going bat watching, it's absolutely magical and I think (though I've never experienced it like this) pretty romantic. It's also been a really good time to have long/serious conversations with whoever is with me and I find it's really good to have something else to focus on when doing that. **

**Hope you enjoyed and please review because it makes my day, seriously :) Thank you to all who reviewed the first chapter, especially to guest, I'm glad my writing is helping with exam stress and good luck to anyone who has exams!**


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